Need
by FuchsiaMae
Summary: Magenta has a nightmare. Riff/Magenta


**Disclaimer**: The Rocky Horror Picture Show and all associated characters belong to the very talented and very sexy Richard O'Brien.

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**Need**

_"Where are you, big brother?" Magenta muttered under her breath. She wandered the silent, unfamiliar corridors with only one thought in mind: she needed to find Riff Raff. Each time she passed a doorway she ducked into it and looked for him, but each room was the same—white-walled and empty. There was no sign of her brother anywhere._

_"Riff? Riff Raff?" she called, voice edged with urgency. She didn't know why, but she needed to find him now. "Riff Raff?" _

_She felt herself panicking. Her heart thundered in her ears. She checked another room—still nothing. Where was he?_

_She felt very alone. _

_"Riff—" _

_Opening another door, she came abruptly face-to-face with her brother. She sighed in relief and smiled. "There you are. I was worried." He stared back at her with glazed eyes, seeming almost not to see her. Her eyebrows creased in confusion. "What is it?"_

_He lifted a hand—he was holding an antimatter gun. And pointing it at her chest. _

_"I'll do it." His voice was an emotionless drone. "You know I'll do it."_

_She stumbled backwards reflexively, voice paralyzed with shock. Finally she managed to stammer, "You wouldn't hurt me, Riff Raff." It was a plea, not a statement._

_"You would hurt me."_

_"No! No—Riff—I love you."_

_"I don't believe you." He lowered the gun from her and pointed it at himself._

_Her eyes widened. "Riff Raff—"_

_His chest flashed red for a fraction of a second, and he crumpled to the floor._

*.*.*

Magenta howled.

It started as a low moan, deep in her core, and built to a gut-wrenching scream—a banshee cry of shock, and horror, and soul-killing pain.

The keening sound dragged Riff Raff to consciousness. He blinked a few times to get his bearings, then realized that the noise was coming from his sleeping sister's lips.

"Magenta?" Immediately attentive, he shook her shoulder gently and murmured, "Magenta, wake up. Magenta."

She awoke with a choking gasp, breathing heavily, eyes darting frantically around the room. They settled on her brother—at the sight of him she gave a shuddering moan and trapped him in a crushing embrace.

"Magenta, what's wrong?"

But words were beyond her—she could only sob into his shoulder, helplessly overwhelmed. He felt her shivering violently in his arms.

"Shh, shh," He held her gently, stroking her hair, murmuring comforts in her ear—"Dearest, lover, beautiful little sister, I'm here, I'm here…" Slowly, slowly, she stopped shaking. The vice-like grip around his chest never weakened. "What is it, love?"

She was breathing deeply to steady her sobs. "Nothing. Just a nightmare."

"Tell me."

"Y-you—" A little hiccup escaped her lips; she wasn't entirely steady yet. "—you died."

"I—?"

"You killed yourself." He felt her lay her forehead against his neck. "I couldn't f-find you—and then—you h-had a laser…" He held her silently as the rest of the shivers left her body. She looked up at him—bloodshot green eyes pleaded for reassurance. "But you would never do that." She kissed his cheek. "You would never leave me."

"I would never leave you."

Her eyes stayed fixed on his face. "I need you, Riff Raff. You know that, don't you?"

Needed him? It was rare for Magenta to admit she needed anything—this dream had her deeply shaken. His fiery, independent lover had disappeared—she was his baby sister again, the child who'd snuck into his bed so many times when they were small.

In one of her rare moments of weakness, she needed her older brother.

It was a role Riff Raff couldn't resist. Still cradling her protectively in his arms, he ran a finger down her spine in the comforting gesture she loved. His lips brushed light kisses all over her face; he could taste the salt of tears on her cheeks.

She managed a tiny smile. "I love you more than anything." Her voice was weak, but her words were earnest.

"I love you, too." His arms flexed around her, hugging her tight. "And I will never, _ever_ leave you."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Their lips met in a longer, deeper kiss. They broke apart after a long minute, and he pushed her gently onto the bed. "Now go back to sleep, my love."

"Alright." A few more kisses and he eased himself down beside her. She yawned and snuggled up against him, pulling his arms around her body; he hugged her close, and she smiled. Before she drifted off he heard her murmur, "If I ever lost you… I don't know what I'd do…"

"Don't think on that, little sister," he whispered. "Just sleep, beautiful. I'm here. Go back to sleep." As her breathing slowed, the tension left her frame and she relaxed into his chest.

Riff's thoughts kept him awake a while longer. It was good his sister didn't know how close to right she was. How many times he'd held a knife purposefully to his flesh, how many times he'd fingered an antimatter gun and wondered… But the thought of those agony-filled green eyes, lost and confused and in terrible pain…

_I could never leave you. You're my baby sister. I love you._ "I love you, Magenta," he breathed in her ear, and then he followed her into sleep.


End file.
